Or, an alternative

A fitting return to the blog after a week's hiatus. In a follow-up to last week's story about Avex's bizarre self-improvement program, Sega has introduced EMA, or "Eternal Maiden Actualization," a 15 inch robot "girlfriend" targeted at lonely adult Japanese males. I wanted to write something clever on the subject, but the article says it all already. Take a look:

Japanese Firm Creates Robot Girlfriend for Lonely Men

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
FOX NEWS

She's big-busted, petite, very friendly and she runs on batteries.

Sega, best known for its home video game consoles, has introduced a 15-inch tall robotic 'girlfriend' that kisses on command, with a target market of lonely adult men.

The robot, named "EMA," which stands for Eternal Maiden Actualization, is designed to pucker up for nearby human heads, entering "love mode" using a series of infrared sensors powered by battery.

"Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that's sweet and interactive," said Minako Sakanoue, a spokeswoman for the maker, Sega Toys to Reuters news agency.

"She's very lovable and though she's not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend."

EMA can also hand out business cards, sing and dance.

Sega is hoping to sell 10,000 robotic girlfriends in it's first year and envisions a $10-billion market for artificial intelligence in a decade.

The busty bot will be available in Japan in September for around $175.